


Reborn and Rise

by Little_Dinos



Series: Criminal Wolf [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Case Fic, Magic!Reid, Magic!Stiles, Mystery, Nightmares, Spencer Reid Whump, Stiles whump, Werewolves, criminal minds x teen wolf, egyptian mythology - Freeform, fires n stuff, ish, magical stuff, read and find out, void!Stiles, will tag as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24986266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Dinos/pseuds/Little_Dinos
Summary: Stiles wakes up one day, unable to remember anything from his dream except for burning golden eyes. Just to make his life harder, the town appears to have a new serial arsonist. With the town on fire, kids missing, and all supernatural creatures choosing to go crazy at the same time, the police station is overwhelmed. This leads them to ask help from the FBI which sends the BAU to try and solve the case.Will they make it in time or will the town burn too quickly? Is this UnSub to much for the BAU to handle? And what will they think of a group of teenagers injecting themselves into the investigation?(basically, tw and cm crossover inspired by a Tumblr post)
Series: Criminal Wolf [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808632
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	1. Glowing Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](https://dandeliondazedance.tumblr.com/post/622044761675759616) tumblr post

_Run. Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t look behind you._ His feet pounded against the dirt floor, exhaustion sweeping in with every breath in, but ignored by the urgency of the situation. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped as he hurried past trees, flinging away branches in his way. 

He didn’t understand what was happening or how he got into this situation. He definitely didn’t know why he was running. All Stiles Stilinski knew was that if he stopped, he’d die.

His lungs were starting to burn, his legs being moved by pure fear. _Of course, they’d go after the only non-magical person in this whole town… Whoever they are._ Stiles made a sharp left in hopes of throwing his pursuers off his trail. However, he failed to notice the tree root sticking high above the ground until it was too late. 

A surprised _yelp_ escaped him as his arms reached up to protect him from the fall. He hit the floor but didn’t stop moving, as he tumbled down the hillside straight into a freezing creek. Water splashed his face, the cold shocking his breath out of his lungs as he looked to the top of the hill. Looking straight up, he noticed the silhouette of some creature with wings. As he stared at the figure, he noticed with dread that two gold eyes stared straight back. 

The freezing water began to heat up noticeably until it was almost uncomfortable to sit in. The air grew stiff and it was harder to breathe as the forest seemed to be burning. The heat was choking, drying Stiles’ eyes in an instant but he found himself unable to blink or look away from those gold piercing eyes. The figure began to glow red until fire erupted from it, the flame burning so hot it appeared almost blue in the around the winged creature. 

Almost as quickly as it ignited, the heat and flames went away and the creature with them. The river once again was cold and Stiles couldn’t help but let out a shiver as he laid down in the shallow water. Letting the cold soak his bones, he couldn’t help but see the glowing eyes as he closed his own. 

“-les”  
“Stiles”  
“Stiles, wake up!”  
“WAKE UP!”

Hands shook Stiles’ shoulders, shaking him out of his slumber. Opening his eyes, Stiles noticed his dad, Sheriff Stilinski, looking at him with an impatient expression. 

“Stiles, wake up, you’re almost late for school. And what the hell are you doing in the bathtub?” His dad yelled as he walked away, probably late for work. 

Coming to his senses, Stiles realized his dad was right, he was in the bathtub, soaked in cold water. He tried to remember what could have possibly brought him here, maybe some part of his dream had him sleep-make a bath but he found himself only remembering the foggy sensation of being warm and two glowing circles, nothing else. 

Shaking his head, he got out of the bathtub and got ready for school, a sense of dread following him all the way to the school parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Please comment what you think and any predictions you have.
> 
> Chapters should get longer, this one is merely giving a taste for the story!


	2. Weird Stuff That Happened This Morning

**Sometimes you just have to die a little inside in order to be Reborn and Rise again as a Stronger and Wiser version of you** \- Unknown

Walking into the BAU, Spencer Reid already knew today was going to be hard. In fact, he knew that the moment he woke up in the middle of some park blocks away from his apartment, but he was wrongfully optimistic for a change. As he pushed past the glass doors, he tried to keep his head down in hopes of his coworkers leaving him alone, with no such luck.

“Hey, pretty boy, how you doing this fine morning?” Reid grumbled out something that he hoped could pass off as an answer to Derek Morgan as he dumped his satchel on his desk and hurried over to the coffee machine. Over his shoulder, Morgan and Emily Prentiss shared a look of amusement to the younger agent’s obvious tired nature. 

Following Reid to the coffee machine, Derek couldn’t help but express his curiosity. 

“What’s got you so tired, Reid? Stayed up too late reading again? Oh I know, you got caught up watching Star Trek and laughing at the physic mistakes.”

“Actually, there aren’t that many scientific errors in Star Trek. Especially considering how long ago it was made. There are certain improbabilities, but not that many outright errors.”

“You’re avoiding my question, Reid. Why do you look like you got punched in both eyes?” Before Reid could think of an excuse, JJ walked by informing them of a new case and that they’re meeting in the conference room. 

Reid quickly followed, hoping Morgan would forget about his tired appearance in favor for the new case. Entering the room, he saw Hotch and Rossi already settling at the table as JJ set up the presentation. Reid sat down next to Rossi just as Morgan and Emily came in and found their own seats across from Reid, leaving one last open seat next to Reid. As Reid took in the crime scene photos JJ was placing around the table, Rossi leaned over to talk to him.

“Reid, do you smoke?”

“What! No, I would never. Did you know that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States? With smokers dying an average of 10 years earlier than nonsmokers, I wouldn’t even think to put that in my system. And while it is true in the 1930s and 40s even doctors encouraged smoking certain brands, it wasn’t until the 1950s that-”

“Jesus, Kid, I was just asking. You smell like you were working in a smoke shop.”

“Oh, I guess there were a lot of smokers on the train today,” lied Ried, now thinking back to his morning route to figure out why he smelled of smoke. As he failed to come up with an answer, he categorized it under the _Weird Stuff That Happened This Morning_ folder. 

A moment later, Penelope Garcia came rushing through the door, apologizing for being late as she set down her computer and a stack of folders. JJ nodded at her, distributing the folders she brought and began describing the case they were gonna work. While listening to JJ mention multiple burned stores and offices, Garcia looked at Reid and reached behind him. Pulling out a piece of a leaf from his hair she looked at him questioningly, which Reid could only respond to with a shrug, turning back to the report. 

Three burned stores and offices in the small town of Beacon Hills, California. One a flower shop, another a produce market, and the last an insurance agency. Luckily, none of the fires had casualties as they were all after hours, but the fact that there were so many in a small town was call for concern.

“How come they called for our help? With no casualties it doesn’t seem like the FBI should be contacted just yet?” Morgan pointed out.

JJ pushed a button revealing multiple dismembered and torn bodies, looking as if ravished by animals. “Beacon Hills has become the epicenter for some intense crimes in recent years. Spanning from disappearances, an epidemic in a school of a weaponized virus to dead bodies showing up out of nowhere. Guess the local police department has had their hands full for a while and could use our help.”

Rossi examined the case folder, “Well people always say small towns have a certain charm to them. Guess these unsubs can’t resist the charm as well.”

“It’s definitely an interesting place to investigate. Wheels up in 20,” with that Hotch got up and walked out of the room. Interested in learning everything as fast as possible, Reid further examined the file, reading down the report on the flower shop. He stopped at the reporting officer’s name, trying to figure out why Stilinski sounded so familiar. There’s no way it could be the same person, but then again Stilinski couldn’t be that popular of a name. 

A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts as he looked up to see Garcia looking down at him. “Ready to go, boy genius? This time you get to travel with yours truly!”

“Uh, yeah, yeah. Sorry just got lost in thought, let me grab my stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did use some direct quotes from the show and look up information on smoking. My years of writing academic papers kicked in as I felt that I needed to cite my sources :) I'll just leave a disclaimer that the facts were researched and gathered from trusted sources 
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter!


	3. Startled Out of Thought

“Stiles, you alright?” Scott’s head tilted in concern as he watched Stiles from the school’s entrance. Students hurried past them in a tired rush to talk to friends about the latest gossip and secure their seats in the classroom.

“What?” Stiles looked up, interrupted from his thoughts, “Oh, no yeah, I’m fine. Just dandy. Really.” However, his attempts to convince his friend came off more like trying to convince himself and telling by Scotts skeptical glare, his friend noticed as well. Though, years of friendship and brotherhood told Scott to accept the excuse now, until Stiles opened up about it himself. 

Together they both entered the school, immediately engulfed in the usual Monday morning madness of friends catching up, kids moaning about the early hour, and the rare (but ever so present) morning people yelling at one another. Making their way to their lockers, Scott ranted about his language arts paper. As Stiles half-mindedly listened, adding a few hums of agreement every now and then, he found himself going back to those glowing rings. _What could they mean?_

On muscle memory alone, Stiles picked up his lock and began to spin the dial. Not really paying attention to what he was doing, he was surprised when his lock didn’t immediately open. Confused, he stared at the ticks and numbers. His breathing picked up and he felt tears burning his eyes. _No, this can’t be happening. Not again. Please, not again!_ The room went quiet, as if the world stopped for a miserable second. Just long enough for Stiles to realize he has no idea what he’s looking at. Where numbers used to be, his locker dial now had strange symbols, bringing him back to the last time this happened. Back to when the Ni-

“Stiles, did you hear me?” All noise came rushing back as Stiles blinked into awareness, noticing the open lock in his hand. Looking at the speaker, he saw Lydia staring at him questionably. He looked to his right to see Liam talking with Scott about some new lacrosse drills, turning back to Lydia when she cleared her throat. 

“Uh, what was that?”

“I asked you if you had the notes from Psychology? I forgot mine at home today.”

“Oh yeah, here you go,” reaching into his locker, he pulled out the notebook, handing it to Lydia before quickly closing it. “Um, I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll- I’ll see you guys in class.” Not leaving his friends time to respond, Stiles turned around and practically ran to the locker room. 

Rushing in, he looked around in a mad panic. His breathing was erratic, matching the wild flow of his thoughts. Seeing no one was there, he locked the door to the hallway and stumbled to the sink. His vision shook as he reached for the tap, fingers flying all over in a blind search. He felt detached from his body, almost as if his head were a balloon, held to his body by a flimsy string. 

Turning on the water, Stiles cupped some in his hand and pushed it to the general area of his face. Feeling the cool water on his skin grounded him some, clearing his sight enough to focus on the mirror in front of him. He stared at his reflection straight in it’s eyes, not breaking the hold. He watched as his frantic expression changed to a more relaxed stare, almost veering to a sadistic look. 

Stiles brought his hand up to his face, but watched in fear as his reflection didn’t follow. He could help the gasp as the reflection began to cackle, mocking his weakness. The eyes hardened and the bags under his eyes grew darker as the mirror image surged forward. 

After years of living in Beacon Hills and belonging to the McCall pack, Stiles should be ready for just about anything. But nothing could have prepared him from the paralyzing fear of the reflection’s arm reaching _out_ of the mirror and right onto his shirt collar. The quick grab caused Stiles to lurch forward, neck almost snapping in half for the shear force. The arm retreated back into the mirror, dragging Stiles right along with it. Right into the reflection. And right into darkness.

*** 

“Stilinski, what the hell are you still doing here!?!” Coach’s voice startled Stiles awake, a common theme for the day. He shot straight up in his seat, noticing the empty classroom and final echos the dismissal bell. _What was he doing here? Wasn’t Coach’s class the third one of the day? And is that drool on his cheek?_ Wiping his face, he looked at Coach with a lost expression, hoping something in the man’s face would answer his questions. 

“Stilinski? Are you- are you high right now? Look, I know these past few years haven’t been easy, but drugs are never the answer. I could care less what you do with your body, but if this affects your game on the field-”

“No, I’m not high… just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Oh, well, if you ever need to talk, I’m here… I guess.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Stiles started packing up his stuff, trying to get as far as possible from this conversation, “see you at practice, Coach.”

Walking out of the classroom, Stiles turned the corner and ran straight into something. Rather someone. 

“Woah, there you are! Where have you been, Stiles? Class ended 10 minutes ago and we said we’d study in the library during lunch.”

“Scott! Sorry, Coach wanted to talk to me about… about a test grade, thought I cheated or something. We can go study now, don’t want to leave the gang waiting, what kind of gentleman would we be?”

Scott let out a chuckle at Stiles’ response and placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping Stiles’ wild glances across the hallway. 

“Hey man, you alright? You’ve been zoned out all morning.”

Stiles really thought about the question, leaving a few seconds of silence between the two. He knew from experience that nothing good came out of holding information, especially in this trippy ‘everything wants to kill you’ town. “Yeah, I mean no. I haven’t been alright. I need to tell you something, but not here. The pack needs to hear this.”

“Yeah, totally man. Let’s go.”

The walk to the library felt like ages, Stiles jumping at every sound and movement. Scott kept his arm over Stiles’ shoulder, as if protecting him from danger, occasionally glancing over in worry. Not that Stiles minded, he was always a very touchy feely person, using a hand on his shoulder or legs pressed against each other as he sat to ground him and his thoughts. 

Getting to the library, they beelined toward the secluded table on the second floor, the unofficial pack table whenever they were at the library. From afar, Stiles could make out Malia, Liam, Mason, and Corey. As they approached the pack, Liam, Malia and Corey turned towards the two of them, probably smelling the worry and panic from Scott and Stiles respectively. 

Before they had the chance to sit down and explain, Lydia came rushing from behind. 

“Guys, I just saw some cops in my mom’s office, turns out Olivia Peterson went missing last night. They said it might have something to do with the recent fires. Have you heard anything about that, Stiles?”

“Fires? Yeah, it’s my dad’s biggest case right now, three fires in the past month to businesses and office buildings. No casualties or signs of our next ghostbusting adventure, so I didn’t think anything about it.”

“No victims until now. At least that’s how the police are looking at it. Turns out they felt like this was a pretty big deal. Looks like they called in reinforcements for this. As in the FBI.”

“Woah, they called the FBI!” Liam leaned forward as students shushed him. Speaking softer he continued, “What if this is serious? Like crazy sacrificial supernatural serious? How’s the FBI gonna handle that without blowing the entire supernatural cover?”

Scott glanced at each member before sitting straighter. “We’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“And how do you suppose we do that?” Malia asked, a highlighted textbook abandoned in front of her.

“We solve the case before they do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this one late at night, so there might be some errors. Enjoy!


	4. Doubt it but sure

“HA! You’re kidding me right!?! There’s no way _we_ , a couple of teenagers, can solve an ongoing investigation before the actual FBI!” Mason’s outburst downed the group’s confidence as they considered what exactly they were up against.

“But don’t you see? We have the upper hand, we know about the supernatural and how to stop them. We’ve done it before and we can do it again,” determination arose again as Scott continued, “Besides, we have Stiles.” All at once, the pack turned towards Stiles giving him the exact look of confusion. 

“ _Stiles?_ ” 

Scott gave Stiles a nod, encouraging him to tell the others. Stiles felt his heart rate spike, his breathing sped up. He looked down at his hands, willing them to stop shaking as he started talking weakly. 

“I uh… I’m getting these really weird dreams. More like nightmares,” clearing his throat he willed himself to continue, ignoring the sudden cold breeze. “They started around a week ago, around the time of the first fire. I don’t remember much, just waking up in a paralyzing sense of fear.”

“This has to be related to the fires. If living here has taught me anything it’s that nothing is a coincidence. Why else would you be having them at the same time as the fires?” Lydia sat down next to Stiles and grabbed his hands, holding them from shaking as she spoke to the group.

“That’s not all. Yesterday I remembered something from the dream. These two burning golden circles. Almost like eyes, just staring straight into me. And then at my locker this morning I-” Wind burst the two doors open, snapping Stiles’ attention to them. 

He was vaguely aware of voices trying to get his attention, but he ignored them as he stood up. Still looking at the open doors, he felt this pull as if someone tied a rope to him and was dragging him along. He found his feet moving on their own towards the door. Whispering called him forward, outside, as if he were expected to meet something. Someone. Just as he was going downstairs, a hand stopped him on his shoulder, grounding him in place. It didn’t matter though, he couldn’t break his hold on the door, on what was waiting for him. 

A figure blocked his view, standing straight in front of him, holding both his shoulders and giving slight shakes. Stiles couldn’t help but look at the two red eyes ordering him to stop. Gaining a sense of self, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He used the hands to ground him, gripping tight to the arm, catching his breath. He felt as if he were underwater for hours and hours, gasping for air like a madman. 

“And there’s that. These moments of lost time where I’m not in control of my body. Like I’m watching from outside.”

Lydia’s voice spoke up what they were all thinking, “Like Void.”

***

The pack spent all lunch huddled on their table, working out what was happening and what they were gonna do. As the lunch bell rang, they packed up and started walking out, still on edge from what happened. They planned to start their investigation and planning after school. Mason, Corey, and Malia would go to Scott’s house to start researching what supernatural creature could do this. Meanwhile, Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Liam would head off to the Sheriff station to fill in Stiles’ dad and Parish and learn all they could about the fires and recent abduction. 

As they were splitting off to their respective classrooms, Scott stopped the group from leaving, letting Stiles continue without them. “Guys, one more thing. We need to keep our eyes on Stiles. If this really is the Nogitsune... we have to be ready.”

***

After school, the four meet up and headed towards the Sheriff’s department. Scott and Liam went on Scott’s bike and Stiles took Lydia in his jeep. Arriving there, they quickly entered and headed straight towards the Sheriff’s office. It was funny how no one stopped them anymore, just accepted the fact a group of teenagers frequently hung out with the Sheriff. 

Since Parish was out right now, they figured the Sheriff could just fill him in on his own. Entering his dad’s office, Stiles went up to the man in question and started the interrogation. “When were you going to tell me you invited the FBI?”

“Stiles! What are you doing here?”

“Dad, the FBI?”

“We just needed some extra help with this case and since I don’t believe any weird fire demon - or whatever it is we deal with these days - was behind it, I called it in.” The teens all looked at one another, deciding who would break the news. “But, guessing from that look, we do have another supernatural creature behind it, don’t we?”

Lydia spoke up, “Looks that way. With the fires happening every three days, a girl now missing and Stiles’ weird dreams, it can only mean something bad is coming.”

“Stiles’ weird dreams? Wait, is that why you woke up in the bathtub today? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know, at first I didn’t really remember, but then I was too scared to admit it was happening again.”

“Again? As in…”

“Looks that way.” The Sheriff rubbed a hand over his face, not believing what he was hearing. His Stiles, his beautiful son was under the control of that _thing_ again. “Okay,” he sighed, “what’s the plan.”

“We’ll need all the case files you have on the fires and girl,” Scott said.

“We should probably go to the sights of the fires, see if we can get a scent.”

“Good idea, Liam. We’ll ask Argent if he’s heard of any fire-setting, kidnapping creature before and do some research of our own.”

“Alright. I can fax the files over to you, but you guys really do need to leave right now. Those FBI agents are due at any time.”

As they started shuffling out of the office, Stiles turned towards Scott and whispered, “Fax? Where the hell are we gonna get a fax machine?”

Letting out another tired, but slightly amused, sigh, the Sheriff spoke up,” There’s a fax machine in my office, Stiles.”

“Oh great, the 1840s called, they want their fax machine back.”

“Just go home, Stiles.”

“Love you, too, dad.”

Just as they walked out, a group of men and women in different outfits, but all with the same serious expression walked into the Sheriff’s office. Walking away, Stiles couldn’t help but look at each one, before his eyes locked with one with short hair, wearing almost grandpa looking attire. 

They held eyes, the two of them, almost in a trance. Stiles couldn’t explain it, but he felt drawn to the man, but also as if his presence was energizing him somehow. He felt stronger, stood straighter, and felt wide awake, completely opposite from seconds before. They held their stare for a second more, but Stiles could’ve sworn he saw the man’s eyes begin to glow. 

Before he knew it, he was called by Scott, the other man pushed by a buffer dark-skinned man behind him. And just like that whatever connection Stiles felt, was gone, almost as if it were never there, to begin with. A mere dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this one took me a while to write. I was literally just stuck on that very last scene and lost all motivation to write it. But!!! I got the story actually planned out now and know what direction I want to go in so that's exciting! Stay tuned for more


	5. wbn

**To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.** -Winston Churchill

“Pretty boy, wake up, we landed.” 

Reid looked up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Running a hand through his hair, he picked up his bag and got off the plane and onto the black SUV. He felt out of it as if he were still dreaming. Tuning out the others’ banter, he thought back on the case. 

Three burned buildings and now a kidnapping. A change in the type of crime is highly unusual and suggests at least two different unsubs. There was no correlation between the different businesses and no connection between them and the missing girl, Olivia Peterson. The only pattern he could tell was each fire was three days apart, but the kidnapping occurred the day after the latest fire. Maybe it’s not correlated at all or maybe-

“Reid? Reid?”

“Uh?”

“I’ve been calling your name for the last minute, you alright?”

“Yeah, just thinking about this case, something big is missing from it but I can’t figure out what.”

“We can talk more about it once we get set up, we’re here.”

“Oh, of course, Emily. Let’s go.” Joining Emily outside, Reid watched as the second SUV parked with JJ, Garcia, Rossi, and Morgan. As they all got out, Emily and Reid walked towards them, Hotch staying by the car taking a call. Reid noticed the surprised looks he was getting from JJ and gave her a confused look. 

“Reid, did you do something to your hair?” At that everyone turned towards him and looked surprised at his hair. Garcia even reached out to touch it. 

“No, why? Does it have something in it?” He started carding his hands through his hair only for JJ to pull his wrists away from it and let out a chuckle. 

“No, it just looks… red and almost golden in the sun. It actually looks really good.”

“Yeah, kid, you use some Kool-Aid on the way over?”

“What? That makes no sense. Actually, did you know that Kool-Aid-” As groans began to fill the air, Hotch walked over.

“That was the state police, they found Olivia Peterson.”  
“Really?! Where?”

“She turned up two towns over, having no memory of being taken or who could have done it. They’re sending her back now.”

“Being kidnapped is a pretty traumatic experience, could be that her mind is blocking out those memories.” 

“That’s why I want you, Emily, to conduct a cognitive interview and see if you can figure anything out. Reid, I want you to begin the geographic profile. JJ reach out to the media and see if anyone has claimed to be setting the fires. Morgan and Rossi, head to the crime scene, look for any signature or mistake. Now let’s go, we have an unsub to catch.”

Walking into the station, they were quickly directed over to the Sheriff's office for a debrief on the town residents and new developments. As they approached the room, they noticed four people in his office already. They couldn’t be older than high school students, only causing some more confusion for the agents. What could these kids be doing at the Sheriff’s station?

Reid heard the door open and the teens begin to shuffle out, looking amused at something. He heard one call the Sheriff his dad, leading to a clearer answer as to why they’d be here. However, as he looked at the origin of the voice, he couldn’t help but stare. 

Suddenly, Reid was consumed by the presence of this kid. Something about him had Reid wanting to step closer and protect him. His eyes felt sharper and he watched as the kid’s expression turned to one of shock. He couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, only to be pushed by Morgan. That push was all it took for him to shake out of whatever trance he was in. Giving a slightly confused look, he continued into the office for the debriefing. 

***

Hours later found the group sitting in the spare office space they were given. They all sat at a round table, surrounded by files, empty coffee cups, and pictures. Boards with different pictures, timelines, and background checks were being analyzed by the agents. Reid stood in front of a map, a marker held tightly in his hand as he tried to work out the puzzle. Finally, Morgan broke the silence.

“Okay, let’s go over it one more time before calling it.”

“Alright, well the cognitive interview led to nowhere. Olivia must have been drugged or knocked out cause she only remembers waking up in an alleyway two towns over with no visible injuries except a few scratches.”

“Well, Morgan and I checked out the crime scenes. Looks like professional work, no apparent cause for the fire, it was almost as if it just spontaneously combusted.”

“The media hasn’t been approached by anyone.”  
“None of the companies are involved in any illegal actions from what I can tell. They all use different banks, insurances, delivery companies… nothing is the same between them or the owners. 

“And from what I can see, there’s no clear geographical profile. At least not with so little data.”

“So you’re saying we need more fires?” Garcia sounded horrified at the idea of more fires, knowing that the more there are, the more likely someone will get hurt. 

“Unfortunately, yes. With so little information, it’s virtually impossible to conclude a definitive profile. The flower shop and producer market are both downtown, but the insurance agency is halfway across town with Olivia Peterson’s abduction site nowhere near any of them.”

Suddenly, JJ stood up. She started sifting through the medical records from Olivia’s examination and pulled out a photo. Holding them up to the pictures of the burned businesses on the board she looked almost excited. 

“Morgan, do you remember that weird marking you found on the flower shop?”

“Yeah, it was burned into the ceiling.”

“And Rossi, you said you found some markings in the last two fires?”

“Yeah, but we concluded it was just made by the fire, it was too random and didn’t resemble anything.”

“That’s because they were upside down!”

“What?” Reid looked at the pictures of the markings and of some scratches on the back of Olivia’s neck. “You’re right! It looks like some letters. W...B...N.”

“WBN? What is that? Garcia?”

“Already on it, boss. Looks like it can mean Would be nice in text lingo, the acronym for an electric company in Europe… oh! And it looks like it’s used in Egypt.”

“Egypt!! I knew it looked familiar!”  
“What is it, Reid?”

“The marks, wbn, is an Egyptian verb. It means to rise in brilliance or to shine. It was often used in myths to symbolize the Bennu bird.”

“And pretend we don’t all know what the Bennu bird is.”

“Bennu is the Egyptian word for phoenix.”

“Wait, phoenix? Like the firebird who burns itself and then is revived?” Rossi asked.

“Essentially. In fact, it’s said that the phoenix takes three days to rise.”

“This could be our missing piece. Good work guys, let's call it a night and in the morning we’ll start looking for people or organizations with Egyptian connections.”

“But, Hotch. Tomorrow is the third day from the last fire, if our unsub is sticking to his pattern, the next fire should happen tonight.” Emily looked worriedly at all the pictures of the fires. 

“And there’s nothing we can do about it. Reid said it himself, we need more to be able to finish the profile. I don’t like it either, but we need to wait for the next fire. Now pack up and head to the hotel to get some rest. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

JJ leaned towards Emily as they walked out, whispering, “Don’t know how much I’ll be able to sleep knowing we’re just letting this guy burn more buildings.”

***

Reid pulled back the sheets and shuffled into bed. Once in place, he let out a content sigh and closed his eyes. It wasn’t common that he got his own room, but with few reservations, the hotel had more than enough space.

As he began to drift off to sleep, he noted how hot it became, kicking off his sheets and turning on to his side. He kept shifting and adjusting, not seeming to be able to find the right position. He turned over once more only to note the rough texture of the bed. 

He heard a crunch and felt small hardpoints under himself. Opening his eyes, he tried to find why his cloud-like bed suddenly turned dirt hard. And there was no better explanation for this than his actually laying in the dirt. Dirt, twigs, rocks, and leaves to be exact. However, that is where all sense was lost, as he couldn’t help but notice he woke up on the floor of some forest (a common occurrence as of late). 

_Snap._

His eyes whipped towards the noise. Rising to his (bare!) feet, he approached the noise, praying it wasn’t a bear or wolf. According to recent news reports from Beacon Hills, they have a big wolf problem and it’d be just his luck to fall victim to the town’s pack. 

Out of nowhere, a figure ran out in front of him and further into the trees. On instinct, Reid raced after it, pumping his legs and arms in an effort to catch whoever it was. As if this wasn’t confusing enough, Reid was surprised by how fast he was going, faster than any high caffeine consuming non-working out adult should ever.

Suddenly, the figure turned and tumbled down the steep hill and straight into a small creek. Standing at the top of the hill, Reid tilted his head as he took in the figure's appearance. It looked like a teenage boy with short brown hair and pale skin. Dark bags made his brown eyes look even darker but it was his expression that held Reid’s attention. He was scared as if he was worried about what Reid was going to do to him. But Reid wasn’t going to do anything. After all, this was the Sheriff’s son. 

Their gazes held as Reid began to feel warmer and his vision grew sharper and more accustomed to the dark. However, the dark itself was going away as a bright light began to illuminate the space. Looking for the source, Reid glanced down to see his legs were on fire. No not only his legs, his whole body. Reid was burning hot flames and he didn’t feel any pain, only a burning force, gaining power and heat, inside his chest. 

Not being able to hold it in anymore, he let out all the energy from inside him, bursting the top of the hill into flames. Throughout it all, he held the kids stare, watching in amazement to his eyes turning a bright green. As quickly as the heat came, it left, leaving him breathless, crumpled on the floor surrounded by charred foliage and burned tree trunks. He felt light-headed and weak, collapsing on the floor. Before his eyes shut, he spotted a lost spark floating down in the air, landing right in his extended hand. 

Then, everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, work has been consuming all of my time. I wasn't even gonna write today and them boom! 5 pages on my doc. The power of forcing yourself to do something :)


	6. Stuff of Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has another dream and can't trust what's reality and what's a nightmare.

_Run. Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t look behind you._ His feet pounded against the dirt floor, exhaustion sweeping in with every breath in, but ignored by the urgency of the situation. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped as he hurried past trees, flinging away branches in his way. 

Stiles didn’t know why he was running through the woods at night, but he knew he couldn’t stop. A feeling of deja-vu creeps up as he heard leaves crunching behind him. Someone was chasing him.

Turning to the right quickly, he stumbles on a tree root and tumbled down a hill. He feels his head smack into a rock as he finally stops in an ice-cold creek. 

Looking up, he could only help but stare at the figure on top of the hill. He wanted to run, get away as fast as possible, but at the same time, he felt drawn to whoever was up there. So he just stayed put, not going any closer but also not leaving. They kept staring at each other, even in the dark Stiles knew he was looking straight into the figure's eyes. 

His vision sharpened, holding the stare until he swore he saw the figure’s eyes turn gold. Their eyes are locked, both oblivious to the light now consuming the woods. The cold from the creek was long forgotten, in fact, Stiles now felt hot, almost to an unbearable degree, but he didn’t look around to see why. He was hypnotized as if staring into the gold circles would reveal all to him. 

Stiles felt power begin to wash over him, a little at first until he glowed as bright as the fire beside him. _Wait, fire?_ Stiles finally broke the hold to look around and sees trees beginning to char, a bright all-consuming fire at the top of the hill. In the middle of the fire, he could see a man, sweat-drenched hair stuck to his forehead and golden eyes looking almost pained as if he was fighting back against something.

Getting to his feet, Stiles barely has time to decide if he should leave or help when he was suddenly picked off the floor. Fire erupted all around him, a heatwave pushing him straight into the air and backward. Soaring through the woods he felt the power seep out of him, leaving him weak and unclear. His body began to angle towards the floor, surely heading for a painful landing. 

_Smack._

Stiles lurched forward in a blind panic. Sweat covered him as he touched his hands all around the floor and his legs. His legs were indeed still there, but the floor... the floor is wrong. Forcing a deep breath, he looked around to see the familiar walls of his bedroom. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he was in his bed. In his room. Not burned alive in a forest. _It was just a bad dream_ , he whispered over and over like a mantra. _It was just a bad dream, a really graphic, realistic, bad dream… unless this is the dream?_

His eyes swung open as his breathing picked up, he was dangerously close to hyperventilating. He sat up, removing his head from a table as he stared at his hands, counting each digit carefully. _One, two, three, four, five-_

“Stiles, man, you alright? What’s wrong?” A deep voice interrupted his counting, but he just restarted, he needed to know if this was real.

“Stiles, listen to me, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath.” A much more feminine voice spoke this time. Looking up, Stiles stared right into Lydia’s eyes, suddenly much more relaxed. He took a shaky breath, followed by another until his breathing slowed down to a regular pace. 

“What… What happened?” His friends looked at him with a mix of bewilderment and worry. He took stock of his surroundings, noticing for the first time he was at their usual table in the library. In fact, it wasn’t just Scott and Lydia, Liam and Malia were also looking at him, concern painted on their faces. 

“We were just eating lunch. You were complaining about how tired you were so you decided to just sleep. Ten minutes later you start having a panic attack and here we are.”

“Wait, school? What do you…” Stiles' voice trailed off, his hands grabbing his hair as he tried to remember anything from this morning. Nothing. “Guys, I don’t remember any of that… Last time I checked I was at home, waking up from a nightmare. Or maybe that was the nightmare? I don’t know what’s happening.”

He got up, trying to clear his head and gather a single clear thought. As he looked over the banister to the first floor, a sharp pain erupted from behind his head. Turning around, Stiles looked straight at Liam who had followed him and now held up a red-stained finger. 

“Stiles, your head’s bleeding. What happened?” 

“I… I don’t know,” Stiles’ vision began to swirl, black dots surrounding the edges. He took an unsteady step back, his hand flying to hold onto Liam and the banister. He was vaguely aware of the others coming up beside him, holding him up. He couldn’t help repeating “I don’t know,” over and over again. 

Just as his eyes were closing, his eyes snapped open again. The same energy from his dream consumed him as he stood straight and shook off the hands of his friends. He stared right into Scott’s uneasy gaze. 

“Stiles, your eyes… They’re glowing green?” Scott sounded unsure as though he didn’t trust what he was seeing. As if he didn’t hear him, Stiles turned around and began walking to the stairs, ignoring the calls from his friends.

“Scott, what should we do?” Malia asked.

“I guess, follow him?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, so sorry this took so long. I've literally been swamped with work and a paper for school. I don't have as much time off as I did during quarantine. I apologize to those of you waiting for updates, I actually completely blanked on this story. However, I wrote this chapter and who knows when the next one is coming, but at least this one's here....
> 
> I'll try to update way more, i promise.


	7. Slowly Going Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I know it's been a bit. Funny how busy life gets. But, here's a new chapter!

**“Fear, uncertainty, and discomfort are your compasses toward growth.” - Celestine Chua.**

Suffice to say, Spencer Reid was having an off day. He woke up from the strangest dream of a forest on fire, completely fine with writing it off as stress from the job until he saw dirt and black ash wash down his drain during his shower. Not only that, but Spencer has never been a morning person, personally enjoying the quiet time that night had to offer over the exhausting task of waking up and getting ready. But after his shower, he felt wide awake, even chipper as he got dressed and made his way to the police precinct before everybody had even woken up. 

And that’s where his team found him. Surrounded by notes on the case, frantically working on the geographical profile. As Hotch walked through the office door, he couldn’t help but send a worried glance towards Rossi. Picking up his worry, Rossi carefully walked towards Reid and plucked the marker out of his hand.

“Reid, what the hell are you doing here so early? You didn’t sleep here, did you?” As Rossi surveyed the room for any signs of Reid staying the night, he noticed notes filling the table and a new folder on the table. Rossi reached for the folder as Reid responded.

“No, nothing like that. Guess I just woke up early and ready to work.”

“Wait a minute, did Pretty Boy just say he woke up early? I can’t believe my ears. Is this not the guy who hacked all our phones and changed our alarms to get another hour of sleep?” Derek stepped behind Reid, reaching over his shoulder and taking a sip from his cup, ignoring Reid’s protest. “Is there cinnamon in this? Bleh.”

“Oh don’t act like you didn’t enjoy sleeping in either, Derek,” Emily replied, walking past them to set up for the day. Everybody shared a laugh as they began to set up. Just as JJ was going to start the coffee maker, Rossi spoke up, looking startled. 

“Reid, how long has this been here?” He held up the folder, worry painted across his features.

“Just before you guys came in, I haven’t had time to look over it yet. Why, what is it?”

“It’s our next victim.”

***  
“Principle Martin, a pleasure to meet you. I’m SSA David Rossi, this is SSA Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid.” Rossi shook hands with the principal, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. Both Derek began to look around, looking around the empty halls and closed doors. 

“I’m glad the FBI is helping out. I would say that nothing like this has ever happened, but in Beacon Hills, something life threatening happens twice a year, and there’s only so much our local precinct can handle.”

“Yes, I understand that must put a lot of stress and pressure on the residents, especially the kids. Did David Arnold show signs of wanting to leave town, maybe run away without telling anyone?” Derek asked. He knew it was a long shot, especially with the case they were working on, but he really didn’t want there to be another victim. Not when they’re here supposedly solving the case and finding the Unsub. 

“No, nothing at all. He was a bit quiet but had his own small group of kids. High grades, looking to graduate and become a lawyer like his dad. Really, he had his life planned out and was smart enough to achieve it. He wouldn’t put it all on the line to run away.” Rossi nodded his head, pointing further into the school. 

“I understand. Well, why don’t you tell me about David? Show me his locker, friends, anything would help when understanding why he was taken.” Principal Martin nodded and led Rossi to her office. 

As they walked away, Reid was trying to figure out what connected the two victims and fires. Other than the two victims being from Beacon Hills, there’s no correlation between them. Different grades, different groups of friends, one was an A student and the other averaging C’s. Derek seemed to have the same problem as he started going over the cases with Reid. 

“I don’t get it. Nothing about this makes sense. I mean, the fires are all pretty consistent but going from arson to kidnapping two kids! How does that make sense? It’s almost like we’re hunting two different Unsubs -” As Derek kept talking, Reid suddenly felt a gush of wind blowing from the hallway. He glazed over there, trying to figure out the source. 

As he searched for the source, his breath slowed down. Reid stood straight, Derek’s voice fading out, replaced by a low buzzing. Similar to his dreams, colors seemed to grow brighter, edges sharper. The room definitely went up a few degrees, sweat already forming on Reid’s brow.

Trying to understand his sudden alertness, Reid noticed a figure emerging in the hallway. Or rather, two green eyes. Reid was stuck in a trance, watching these eyes glow brighter, mesmerized by the power they seemed to emanate. His body began to walk towards the figure, his mind no longer in control. It was as if there was a rope tied around Ried’s soul, dragging him closer to this figure. He didn’t even realize how far he had gotten until it was all shattered.

“-ed. Reid. Spencer!” Derek’s voice broke through the haze, snapping Reid’s gaze away from the figure and towards his partner. Derek seemed confused, shock flashing over his features. Just as quick as it had come, it was replaced with worry. 

“Come on, Pretty Boy. Hotch wants to go over the case.” Reid nodded, still not entirely sure what had happened. Sparing a glance back to the figure, he noticed a group of teenagers surrounding one, appearing as though they were protecting him. One of the boys made eye contact with Reid, and he could have sworn he saw red in his eyes. Shaking his head, he turned and followed Derek and Rossi back to the van. 

With all these red and green eyes, Spencer must be going crazy. But he couldn’t knock the feeling that these kids were important. Maybe they had the answers behind his burning dreams and lost time. 

***  
Back at the precinct, the BAU was slumped over a table, attempting to find answers to the puzzle.

“Okay well, we’ve got three different fires, all after business hours and no victims. Which could indicate that this Unsub doesn’t want to kill, but maybe send a message?”

“And what message is that? Not exactly any common ground between a flower shop, market, and insurance agency,” Garcia looked around the table. It wasn’t every day the BAU met a case they couldn’t solve. But there was always a first time for everything. 

“And then we have these marks. All left at the fires. But there was nothing on any Egyptian scholars or families, right Garcia?”

“Right you are, my love. I’ve looked at birth countries, businesses, scholars, heck, I’ve even looked into library records. Unless we think a ten-year-old working on a book report did it, then we’ve got nothing down that path.”

“But it’s gotta mean something! It cannot be a coincidence that we find these marks pointing towards a phoenix, a creature associated with fire! And what of these kidnappings? Why take these kids and let one of them go a few towns over?” Reid was getting agitated. He wasn’t sure why, but by the end, he was breathing quickly and standing, hands flying everywhere as he tried to wrap his head around this case.

JJ looked worriedly towards Reid, setting her hand on his arm as she stood by him. “Maybe we need to take a break? Clear our head, grab some lunch and try again.”

“That’s a great idea. I know we’re all stumped and want to figure this out, but we’re not gonna get anywhere when we’re hungry and agitated,” Hotch made hold of Reid’s gaze, sending him a look when Reid huffed out in anger. “Garcia, you mentioned a Chinese restaurant? Can you check to see if they deliver?”

“You got it, boss.” With that, everyone stood up and distracted themselves with the menu. Needing some air and a fresh cup of coffee, Reid started walking out the door. As he stepped outside, Reid took a big breath, trying to calm himself. He wasn’t used to this, leaving the explosive anger to Derek or Emily, but he tried to stay calm and surround himself with facts. Reid couldn’t understand why he was getting so emotional about this. 

Taking one last breath, Reid shook out all his angry thoughts and went to grab some coffee. Walking into the break room, he was relieved to see it was empty, knowing he still wasn’t in the mood to talk. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet, he accidentally bumped another, sending it crashing onto the floor. 

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Reid carefully set down the other mug. He crouched to the floor to pick up the ceramic pieces. As he gathered them in his hand, he accidentally sliced his finger on a piece. He couldn’t stop tears from filling his eyes, feeling overwhelmed and in pain. As he inspected his bleeding finger, he felt a tear roll down his face and fall onto his finger. Suddenly, the pain stopped, his finger no longer feeling the sting from earlier. Confused, he wiped the blood off his finger. 

“Reid, you alright? We heard a crash.”

“Huh? Oh.. yeah. I’m fine,” Reid answered Emily, still looking down at his finger. His eyes wide and his heart pounding as he couldn’t find any cut on his finger, not even a scratch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I cannot believe how much I wrote today! I'm gonna write this creative wave for as long as it'll take me. I've got the entire story planned out and just need to actually write it! It also looks like it's gonna be wayyyyy longer than originally planned, but I do truly want to finish this. I've never actually finished a chapter fanfic, so wish me luck!
> 
> Also, please leave your thoughts and comments on where the story is going, any pieces you liked or just how your day is going. I love hearing from each and every one of you.


	8. In a Trance

“Where’s he going?” Liam’s voice was full of anxiety, not knowing what would happen to Stiles. Over the years, he’s started regarding him as his brother. Even though Liam knew Stiles could handle himself, he couldn’t help but get protective over the boy. After all, he was the only one without supernatural powers and kept getting roped into danger. 

“I have no idea.” Scott was on edge. He did not like this one bit, but he wasn’t about to leave Stiles by himself. He couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom, worried about what Stiles was leading them to. 

Stiles himself had no idea what was going on. He was trapped, drowning in darkness and unable to reach the surface. Every now and then, he catches glimpses of the world. Watching Scott’s worried glazes, feeling the wind when walking outside before reaching the school’s main building, seeing the passing classroom doors, even his locker. He had no control over his body, his mind sluggish fighting against whatever was holding him. 

He had to admit it, though. He liked how powerful he felt right now. It seems odd to feel powerful when you have no control over your body, but it was true. Stiles has never felt stronger. He has never felt as invincible and wanted to feel more, more power, more control. He took every step feeling as though he was gaining that desired power, as though he was getting closer to achieving it all. 

As he turned yet another corner, he immediately felt a burst of energy. He knew he was close. Close to what, he had no idea, but close nonetheless. As he walks further down the hallway, he suddenly stops, standing in the middle of the empty corridor. No, not empty. Two people were standing at the end, talking to each other. One of them drew his attention as he felt more energy push past him and towards this man. 

The man suddenly turned towards him, immediately changing his entire demeanor. Stiles felt stronger than ever, knowing that this man was his key towards divinity. Holding the man’s stare, he called him closer, giving a smirk when the man started walking. 

Scott immediately sensed the change in the air. When Stiles stopped, he started pulsating with energy, his posture rigid and his stare haunting. The pack couldn’t help the eerie feeling filling them. All of them were brought back to Void and all the terrible things he had done to not only them but Stiles. The nightmares and days of isolation, trying to find himself again. It was heart-wrenching to watch such an integral part of their family fall apart, and recognizing the same evil presence sent shivers down their spines. 

Liam let out a small whimper, his eyes turning gold and catching Scott’s attention as he, too, sniffed the air, trying to figure out what set off his beta. Scott barely held back his own whimper, watching as Malia also struggled. The air was heavy with an awful, acrid stench. It smelled like death. Everywhere. 

Scott’s senses immediately heightened as he felt the familiar burn of his eyes turning. He could hear students writing in classrooms, Lydia’s heart rate spiking, and her mom talking to someone in her office. Most importantly, he heard one of the men talking just down the hall. 

“The fires are all pretty consistent but going from arson to kidnapping two kids-” Two kidnappings? Scott thought there was only one unless there was another last night. But Scott couldn’t linger any longer on that as the other man starts walking towards them, his eyes glowing. It looked as though his eyes were a golden fire, and Scott swore he could feel the heat from them. The worst part, though, his eyes were set on Stiles. 

Moving as one, the pack began to surround Stiles, trying to block him from the other man, but this didn’t stop him from walking closer. He hadn’t even slowed down, as if he didn’t care or didn’t see them. Just before Scott could let out a cautionary growl, the approaching man was called out by his partner. As if broken from a spell, he blinked rapidly, his eyes turning back to hazel and growing clearer. 

Turning to Stiles, Scott managed to catch him right before he collapsed on the floor. The others became aware of Stiles’ predicament and closed the circle around him, blocking the entire world from Stiles. Scott watched as Stiles blinked back into reality, similar to the man before. Before he could ask if he was okay, Scott glanced over his shoulder, making direct eye contact with the man. Only then did he notice the badge and gun hanging off his belt. _He’s one of the FBI agents!_

Before he could collect more information, the agent turned away and walked out the door with two other men. _His partners_ , Scott presumed. Turning back to Stiles, he noticed the confused expression he was wearing.

“What are we doing in the hallway? What happened?”

***  
It wasn’t hard to convince everyone to skip their last couple of classes and meet at Stiles’ house. They were currently all gathered in Stiles’ room. Usually, Stiles would feel cramped, and a bit overwhelmed having so many people in his small room, but right now, it only served as a source of comfort. And with what his pack was telling him, he definitely needed some reassurance.

“So I just started walking and was apparently in a staring contest with a federal agent?! Why don’t I remember any of this?” Stiles begins to panic, not liking the parallels he was making between this and a certain trickster. Lydia placed a comforting hand on his leg.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. You’re safe here with us. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“So what do we know?” Scott asked, turning towards Mason and Malia. “Were you guys able to find anything?”

“No, not yet. There’s no mention of any monster that burns buildings, kidnaps kids, and makes people go into trances. But it does look like Stiles made more progress than us,” Mason looked impressed as he glanced at Stiles’ walls, now covered in paper and string. “You did this?” He turned towards Stiles.

“Yeah,” Stiles looked down, not wanting to see anybody’s reaction to what he was about to say, “I haven’t been sleeping too well, so I’ve stayed up trying to solve this monster of the week.” Looking away didn’t help as he could feel their pity and worry ooze out of them and surround Stiles. Needing to move and get away from the overwhelming feelings, he walked towards the wall. 

“Actually, I found something interesting, which might answer some of our questions. It was… uh, it was right….” Stiles stared at his wall, trying to decipher the symbols and drawings covering the pages. He didn’t remember printing them like this. Had he changed it without noticing? “It was right…” panic began to creep into Stiles’ throat as he frantically looked at the papers, trying to find something, anything that made sense. “I-I don’t know. It was somewhere, but I can’t- I can’t read anything!” 

Everybody gasped as Stiles continued to tear at his stacks of papers. It wasn’t until Lydia gently grabbed his hands that he stopped, panting. She gave a comforting squeeze while she led him towards his bed once more, sitting right next to him. 

“Okay, is there anything you can tell us about it? Maybe we can find it?” God bless Liam and his inability to deal with emotions. Always the fixer. 

“Yeah, it was something about Egypt? I think it was called a Bennu bird?” 

“Oh, here it is,” Mason picked up the paper and began reading off of it, “Bennu is an ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation, and rebirth… He also was a symbol of rebirth and, therefore, was associated with Osiris… his name is related to the Egyptian verb wbn, meaning ‘to rise in brilliance’ or ‘to shine.” 

“What does that have to do with everything that’s happened?”

“Well, it says here that Bennu inspired the greek phoenix. And it looks like Stiles highlighted something about dying and being reborn again in three days. But this does say that Egyptian sources never mention death to the bird just-”

“Wait. Mason, what did you just say?”

“That Egyptian sources never mentioned the Bennu actually dying?”

“No, the thing before that.”

“Um, that Stiles highlighted something about Bennu dying and taking three days to reform?”

“And how far apart was each fire?”

“Three days.” The room goes silent while everyone starts to process the information. They can all tell that this is important, but its significance is still lost on them as they continue to theorize. While each person throws out their own thoughts, Stiles finds himself growing sleepy. His eyes grow heavy, begging to close. He starts to slump over, and his breaths begin to even out. Right before he can fall asleep, Lydia seems to notice his state and guides his head onto her lap, carding her fingers through his hair. While Lydia messages his scalp, Stiles can’t hold back anymore and drifts off into darkness. 

“Well that would explain the green eyes! What do you think, Stiles?” Everyone turns to hear Stiles’ response only to realize he’s out cold on Lydia’s lap. No one can help but let a small smile paint their features, knowing that he needed to rest and felt safe to do so with them around. Knowing how little he’s slept lately, they all sit down and softly work through their ideas, careful not to wake Stiles. 

Two hours pass as the team chats and Stiles sleeps, Lydia soon following after. They’re in the middle of arguing about how to stop the fires and kidnappings when a noise startles them. They all glance towards the source, watching as Stiles sits up straight and begins to walk out of his room. 

“Stiles, where’re you going?” The pact watches as Stiles continues to walk away, Lydia now waking up from her own nap. They try calling out to him again, but he doesn’t stop, doesn’t even show any signs of hearing them. 

“Guys, I don’t think Stiles is awake,” everyone gives a questioning glance to Lydia, “This is just like in the library. He’s in some sort of trance.”

“But where’s he going?”

“Only one way to know for sure.” With that, the pact starts blindly following Stiles once again. Each member has their own look of worry or distrust, not knowing if this was some sort of trick or a trap. They all grow more unsteady as they cross into the woods, pass the trails and start walking to the middle of nowhere. 

Throughout all of this, Stiles doesn’t utter a word, just walks quietly. Whereas the pack is unsteady and hesitant, Stiles walks as if he had taken this path a million times before. Just as they reach the top of a hill, Stiles’ behavior begins to change. He glances around, his eyes unseeing yet alert. He begins to pick up his pace, his breathing accelerating, and the wolves can hear his once steady heart rate pick up the pace. He smells and looks panicked, so it’s no surprise when he breaks off into a run. 

Chasing after him, the pack can’t help but notice how fast he’s running, the wolves and were coyote struggling to match his pace, leaving Lydia and Mason lagging behind. They jump over roots, branches scratching their skin as they try to follow the panicked Stiles. Just before they can finally reach him, he trips over a root and rolls down the hill. Liam manages to jump in front of Stiles and stop him; just inches from the freezing old creek, Liam had to jump in himself. 

As Malia and Scott catch up, they all try to wake Stiles up. Unlike the other times where Stiles has slowly regained consciousness, he snaps his eyes open, jumping to his feet and looking ready to defend himself. 

“Woah, Stiles, it’s okay. It’s me, Scott. You’re alright, you’re okay.” Scott grabs Stiles’ shoulders, trying to break through the haze. 

“Scott? What the- No no no, it happened again didn’t it? What is happening to me!?” Stiles’ eyes begin to well up as his voice cracks with emotion. 

“I don’t know Stiles, but-”

“Uh Scott? You might want to see this.” Still holding onto Stiles, Scott glances up the hill towards Lydia. 

“What is it- oh my god.” Looking at the top of the hill, Scott can’t help the dread that washes over him as he sees all the surrounding trees scorched, looking as if they were burnt. 

“What the hell is this?”

“A crime scene,” Walking forward is a group of six men and women, all wearing FBI vests. One of them steps forward, his gaze staring right at Scott, “And you kids are trespassing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter isn't my favorite, but after months of not writing, it's my best. I do hope you guys liked it and are enjoying where the story goes. Also now that the two teams have met what do you think will happen?????
> 
> Please comment any ideas, thoughts or wacky dreams you've had. I love hearing from you guys.
> 
> *Also the student in me needs to say that the part of the Bennu bird was almost word for word from the wikipedia page on Bennu Bird, just a heads up


End file.
